Justices Pass on Google Keywords Trademark-Infringement Case

The US Supreme Court won’t review whether buying ads targeting Google searches for another company’s name infringes trademarks.

The justices on Tuesday rejected law firm Lerner & Rowe PC’s petition arguing the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrongly found buying such terms doesn’t infringe. The October ruling in favor of Accident Law Group came the same month that the Second Circuit reached the same conclusion in a dispute over the purchase of “1-800 Contacts” search terms.

The question carries huge ramifications as Google generates billions of dollars from companies that purchase keyword search terms. Whether it’s permissible ...